Unfair Dismissal

[denby04]

Please bear with me. My now ex-colleague (I will call her Jessie) was reported immediately to the Police for unprocessed goods at the point of sale to another ex-colleague (I will call her Bella). There is no friendship between these two people. Jessie admitted to the shop owners and the Police she had unintentionally made a mistake at the checkout. She always felt intimidated by Bella (I also worked Bella and can't say I didn't like her as I didn't know her but didn't like her work attitude Not a team player in a small retail outlet. Jessie volentered immediately to be interviewed by the Police (on tape, fingerprinted etc). She was suspended from work. The Police were waiting to interview Bella. After one week of suspension, Jessie had her employment terminated, received wage owed, holiday pay and her P45. 3 weeks later, Bella was interviewed by the Police and returned to the shop and paid an amount of money. The Police have now stated there is no case to answer as Jessie's account plus the "grainy" CCV evidence is inconclusive. I am not a friend of Jessie's but after working with her I stated to the owners of the outlet that she would never put herself in such a position. She knows there are cameras and computer checks. What had she to gain. Over the past 3 weeks I began to feel I was being a bit naive but I stood my ground supporting Jessie. Finally, (sorry folks), Jessie is now out of work, the Police have even stated she shouldn't have been sacked. I have advised her to go the CAB. She doesn't know what to do but realises this is her personal reputation at stake. WHAT ARE HER RIGHTS? WHERE CAN SHE GO FROM HERE.

[daffy654]

How long has Jessie worked at this place? It will have strong bearing on any legal action she may be able to take, and advice given.

[cathfromsaron]

bad faith!

i would ensure i had a fab reference and severance pay, but they can stuff their job! x

[denby04]

Daffy654 Jessie has given loyal service for 6 yrs. Very little sick absece, if any, and would cover for anyone elses absence if asked.
cathfromsaron: they have asked her for an apology (which is not going to happen) so a reference and severence is not going to happen. Stuff their job, yes. It's a shame as not only me (we had the best working relationship I have ever had in 40yrs and she agrees even before this injustice) but customers really miss her presence.

[denby04]

Sorry Daffy654 that should read "if asked" not if any.
I want to add that i reckon I am a good judge of character and I am aware of the say "there's no smoke without fire" but I stand by her. Management have also said to me "if you leave people may think you had something to do with it" NICE, NOT.

[Buenchico]

All that the ex-employee can do is to refer the matter to an Employment Tribunal:
http://www.direct.gov...nttribunals/index.htm
If she decides to go down that route she needs to be aware that, like almost all courts, Tribunals are open to the public and (probably more importantly) to the press. That means that her alleged misconduct might be reported in local newspapers.

Chris

[Eve]

There is also a 3 month time limit from dismissal to file a claim so if she is going to get advice with the potential to make a claim then she needs to act as soon as possible. ACAS have some information on their website as a starting point.

[denby04]

Thanks for all responses. Jessie now feels she would not return to work after the way she has been treated by the owners. They told the Police they wanted an apology from her (which is not going to happen). I think they should have spoken to her immediately after finding her mistake and asked her from an explanation instead of calling the Police. I will check for further responses and someone has already mentioned ACAS. Many, many customers miss her and are asking where she (thinking she has been on holiday or sick). They have lost an excellent employer and have admitted to me what a good worker she was (is).

[Mosaic]

So sad, and so bad, and far too much of this kind of treatment being meted out to workers. Scratch the surface, and you will probably find 'Bella' is a relation or bed-pal of someone further up the food chain - hence acts like a bovine and is tolerated. She was probably jealous of the good standing of 'Jessie', and so made her the target of her fond attentions.
Yes, she should go to the CAB and to ACAS, and should seek support for the process of getting compensation from these pathetic barstewards. I'd suggest in the circumstances that seeking to get this job back is a bad idea - they will get at her again, they always do. But having an employee arreted and demanding an apology for something they cannot demonstrate that she did is unacceptable. It might be worthwhile also consulting a no-win, no-fee employment law specialist.
Re. tribunals: large organanisations with extensive HR departments will fight these and use bery dirty tactics. Smaller firms can try to do this but don't have the resources or the cojones, so if the experts supporting Jessie suggest this route it might serve her purpose.
Good luck to Jessie, help her to be strong and pull through this terrible time. God rot the vile bullies of this world.

[starone]

Well said mosaic, epecially the last sentence.

[denby04]

Mosaic, your reference and intuition to Bella and a "bed-pal" is absolutely correct. Before she left, the owners son was, and probably still is, besotted with the bitch. The owners hated the thought of a possible relationship (although it was never going to happen on Bella's part) yet to make matters worse they seem to support Bella and not Jessie. You were not aware of this and it makes me think more into the fact that the son is not as gormless as he appears or perhaps more so. As for me, work is becoming more intolerable and I think I am the next target. I will be speaking to Jessie tomorrow.

[denby04]

I feel I must add that Jessie did admit to the error but stressed that it was unintentional. (Owners have grainy cctv and a computer print out of goods purchased). Something I can't understand is Bella was sent a letter stating she should not come into the shop. Knowing her, I expected an onslaught of verbal attack to both the owners and maybe a phonecall to Jessie or a visit to her home asking "what's going on". NOTHING. So Mosaic, I think I now know how she did know what was going on. Hhhmmm.